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Teem — Teem, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Teemed}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Teeming}.] [OE. temen, AS. t[=e]man, t?man, from te[ a]m. See {Team}.] 1. To bring forth young, as an animal; to produce fruit, as a plant; to bear; to be pregnant; to conceive; to multiply.… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

teem — [ti:m] v teem down phr v [: Old English; Origin: timan, tAman] to rain very heavily ▪ It s been teeming down all day. teem with / [teem with sb/sth] phr v 1.) to be very full of people or animals, all moving about ▪ The island was teeming with… … Dictionary of contemporary English

teem — [ tim ] verb intransitive often progressive if it is teeming or teeming down, a lot of rain is falling teem with phrasal verb transitive teem with someone/something to contain an extremely large number of people, animals, or objects that are all… … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

teem — teem, *abound, swarm, overflow can all mean to be plentifully supplied (with) or to be rich (in). Though they are often interchangeable, each of these words may carry distinctive implications. Teem implies productiveness or fecundity {the rivers… … New Dictionary of Synonyms

Teem — Teem, v. t. To produce; to bring forth. [R.] [1913 Webster] That [grief] of an hour s age doth hiss the speaker; Each minute teems a new one. Shak. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

teem — It sometimes causes surprise that the two apparently close meanings involved here are of two distinct verbs. One, from an Old English word meaning ‘to give birth to’, means ‘to be full of or swarming with’ (as in a sea teeming with fish), and the … Modern English usage